The present disclosure generally relates to electronic mobile devices, and more particularly to key and display structures of electronic mobile devices.
In the design of electronic mobile devices, such as cellular phones and the like, there is an inclination to continuously improve aesthetic qualities. One manner for making such improvements involves designing smaller and/or thinner devices by using smaller and/or thinner components. Another manner for making aesthetic improvements includes using visually and/or tactilely pleasing individual components. One set of visually pleasing components includes an external lens that overlies a display module and defines, in part, one or more adjacent menu keys. This structure provides a smooth appearance with few, if any, breaks or discontinuities on the lens between the display module and the keys and between the keys themselves. As such, the keys appear to be part of a bezel structure that surrounds the display.
The above keys, while aesthetically pleasing, can be difficult for a user to manipulate. For example, if each key includes a mechanical switch (i.e., a dome switch) beneath the lens, the keys can be prone to “falsing”. That is, keys may be inadvertently deflected and actuated when pressing a neighboring key due to the continuous structure of the lens. Slits or breaks can be provided between adjacent keys to prevent adjacent lens portions from unintentionally deflecting, although such a solution reduces the aesthetic appeal of the device.
Another solution to address key falsing involves using a touch-sensitive input device instead of mechanical switches. A touch-sensitive input can readily distinguish key presses between adjacent keys that are defined, in part, by a common lens structure. However, such touch-sensitive inputs typically do not provide tactile feedback to indicate to a user that a key has been successfully pressed.